POLITICS OF POLICY MAKING

In this course we will explore public policy in the United States at the local, state, and national level. Throughout the course you will build a toolkit of how to analyze and evaluate policy through the lenses of political science, public policy, and economics. The course will be broken into two sections the policymaking process and analysis of specific policy areas. In the first section, we will take a close examination of the how each branch of government can influence public policy and the checks on each branches ability to influence policy. We will then discuss the role of other actors such as the public, private interests, and the media in influencing public policy. In the second section of the course, we will closely examining specific public policy areas that are highly salient to current policy debates in the US. By the end of the course you will have an in depth knowledge of how public policy is created and have gained the tools to critically analyze public policy issues at each level of government.

SYLLABUS

POLICY ANALYSIS
Prompt

POLICY FRAMING
Prompt

POLICY BRIEF
Prompt
Rubric
Presentation